NEWS: Report: 2016 Jaguar XE Is Lightweight, Efficient

The 2016 Jaguar XE sports sedan will lead to several other models, and it is designed to be flexible enough to add many different variants. That's the word from Autocar, which reports that the XE could offer several different types of engines, lightweight materials, and could even spawn two larger models.

Today’s luxury sport customer is looking for a balance between performance and efficiency, and the Jaguar will look to achieve both with its new scalable platform. We previously speculated that the new architecture (called iQ[Al]) could underpin a future crossover based on the Jaguar C-X17 concept. Now it turns out that the architecture is flexible enough to perhaps support a longer replacement for the XF sedan, too. European bureau chief Georg Kacher previously reported that the next-generation Jaguar XF will move upmarket, toward current XJ territory, to provide greater separation between it and the forthcoming XE.

“It is a hugely flexible architecture and we will make full use of it, as there’s no point in doing just one car,” Jaguar design chief Ian Callum told Autocar.

Jaguar is making a push for all-wheel drive, which has sold very well here in the U.S. on the XF and XJ, so we expect it will be available as an upgrade to the standard rear-wheel drive. Both the 2016 Jaguar XE and future XF replacement will have a lightweight double-wishbone suspension built from aluminum.

The XE is composed of multiple pressed aluminum pieces joined together by rivets and aerospace-derived adhesives. This type of assembly leaves open the possibility of substituting in carbon fiber, which could further reduce weight for high-octane XER or XER-S models down the line.

Autocar reports that such a high-performance Jaguar XE could have around 400 hp, and that some models could travel at over 186 mph. For the regular models which will arrive first, Jaguar will use its new Ingenium line of 2.0-liter diesel and gasoline engines. In line with Jaguar’s current engine range, Ingenium powertrains will be able to support an array of forced-induction arrangements including single and twin turbos, superchargers, and a combination of the two.

The 2016 Jaguar XE will debut sometime later this year, before it goes on sale starting in Europe in 2015. Jaguar could unveil the compact sport sedan as early as the 2014 Paris auto show in October.

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